Saturday, March 10, 2012

Guy Langman: Crime Scene Procrastinator by Josh Berk

There are two big things going on in Guy Langman's life right now. The first is that his father recently passed away. It wasn't completely unexpected, given that his father was born during the Great Depression, but it's still not something that Guy was prepared for. There's a big hole in Guy's life, an absence that just emphasizes how much of a loss it really was. The other thing is that Guy and his best friend Anoop have recently joined the school Forensic team. Yeah, it might not be as up there as losing your father in the scheme of things, but it does seem to be having an ...interesting effect on Guy. It turns out he's a natural at gathering fingerprints! As the mysteries in his life seem to pile up, can he use his newfound scientific knowledge to make sense of it all?

I really enjoyed this book. Strangely, I read it before The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin, which worked out great for me, because I had more Josh Berk to turn to. Guy at first seemed like many other YA male narrators (quippy, occasionally emotionally stunted, likes to make 'your mom' jokes), and I wasn't sure how much I could take. But then he won me over with his quirks, his struggle to deal with his grief, and his humour. There were also a number of strong supporting characters: his parents, his best friend, the other Forensic club members. (vague spoilers, but not really) I liked how the members of the Forensic team often had theories that sounded completely ridiculous, but they'd convince the others how plausible it was, only to find out that...it ended up being completely ridiculous. There are some themes of 'things aren't always what they seem' that are woven throughout the story, relating to everything from people to crime scenes. I want to read more from Josh Berk, and I would like it as soon as possible, please.

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All opinions are mine and do not reflect the opinions of anyone that I work for or anyone who has sent me a book for review.

About My Blog's Name

My blog name comes from people crowding re-shelving trucks in the library, eager to see what other people were returning. There's an excitement in finding out what other people are reading, and it's a great way to get ideas for what to read next.

Looking for More Books?

For each title, I've listed a few other books under Read It With. These are titles that are similar in some way: plots, tones, themes, settings, characters, and so on. They're not straight-up read-alikes; for example, sometimes a juvenile book might have a picture book, a YA book, or an adult book listed. There's not really a science to how I come up with them - they're just meant to spark something if you're interested in a title.